Doin’ Des Moines I first came through Des Moines in 1962 when I was eight years old. My mother, sisters and I were living in Madison, Wisconsin while my mother was getting her Ph.D. My Uncle John, who was a retired Chief Petty Officer in the Navy and now worked as a janitor at a local school in National City, California, had won a big score at the racetrack in Tijuana and had used the…
The Corn Belt There are very few foods I like better than steamed corn on the cob, with lots of butter and salt. In fact, I can easily make a meal out of two or three ears and be very happy with that. Kim understands this and knows that when the summer season rolls around, I am always in search of my next corn dinner. So, today I am on my way to Des Moines,…
Pacing Myself Kim and I have just had a very unusual exchange. It has to do with getting from here to there, but it’s really about how one chooses to live one’s life. I start by declaring that I feel that state of mind is a governing principle. What I mean by that is that everything from enjoyment and happiness to effectiveness and competence are a direct function of how I feel. If I feel…
Freedom!!! In 1941 Franklin, Delano Roosevelt believed that the United States should end its isolationist policies that came about as a result of World War I. Europe was in turmoil. Germany had taken over the continent of Europe along with Italy while Japan ravaged the Far East. The only countries left to fight the Axis powers were England and the Commonwealth. In the United States, the Neutrality Act prevented the United States from assisting them…
Singing in the Rain We are in NYC for the weekend to see the kids. We specifically came this weekend because our youngest granddaughter, Evelyn, is performing in a choral group today out at The Theater at City Tech in downtown Brooklyn. She will be amongst about 100 of here fellow choral boys and girls and she is thrilled to be in the front row so that we can all see and hear her clearly.…
A Liberal Allowance Teaching at the graduate school level is quite a bit different than teaching at almost any lower level. In the modern world (at least among those who prize education and believe it is on the path to success), it is quite normal to go beyond a four year college degree. The penetration rate of college graduates has risen now to 53.7% of American adults and of those, 14.7% (27% of the college…
A-Aye-Aye-Aye There is nothing like having a front row seat for a megatrend as it starts to roll through and over world culture. It is well established that we are on the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Chairman of the World Economic Forum has said unequivocally that “We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another.” It is generally…
The Academy Plato would hold court in a grove of trees (presumably for shade) on a hillside outside Athens. Based on the name given the place by its owners, it became known as the Academy. Since those days, the word has been used for a vast array of institutions of learning and/or sport and it has always carried with it a sense that these are loftier pursuits that improve the mind and body and elevate…
Vindication Don’t you just love it when some long-held belief ends up getting some validation and makes you feel that you are not so very stupid after all? I’m not so sure that I am as opinionated as some people, but I have more than my share of long-held views that inform my lifestyle and make me the way I am. I think we can call it the Popeye effect where we all huff and…
I Express Therefore I Am I checked my files and I have twice written stories that used the expression Cogito Ergo Sum, I think Therefore I am, penned in 1637 by French philosopher Rene Descartes. Some expressions, and I guess especially the existential ones, always pop up when you get introspective. Well, I’m at it again on this foggy Mothers Day morning and it has little or nothing to do with my mother. Now there’s…